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Wells, MN Car Consumer Discussions

Re: G37 [sjaieve]

by johninnj on Sat Oct 04 08:34:21 PDT 2008

I have an 07 and agree. I doubted the new changes would improve performance much. When you are pushing a 4dr car to 60 in WELL under 6 secs and running basically 14 flat 1/4 mile....each improvment has to be that much more drastic to increase performance. I want better mpgs for SURE....and a reprogram of the auto would be great...but....I might just be buying my 40K car off lease for 21K (Sport had crappy resid so I gave 6K security deposit to buy down my $ factor to get the same payment as X...but with better buy out. Wonder how much they will bang me for warranty it to 100K

Audi renege's on Instrument Cluster Settlement

by flip08 on Fri Oct 03 09:48:38 PDT 2008

Has anyone else seen Audi / Settlement Administrator renege on the TT Instrument Cluster settlement? We qualified undet guideline (a) for reimbursement but were sent a repair voucher instead of the cash settlement. When we reminded the administrator that the Audi had already been repaired a year ago - the Administrator said we did not qualify for reimbersement. (Hugh?) We were told by Chuck Marshall of GREEN WELLING LLP that Audi was not honoring part of their settlement and to contact Audi directly. We did and were sorely disappointed when we were told to go back to the administrator who has closed the door (apparently). What gives? This is the 4th Audi we've owned. The instrument cluster broke at 12k miles on the TT. We are a loyal customer who clearly qualified for reimbursement. Has anyone else recieved this treatment by Audi & the Settlement Administrator?

Re: [fandiguy]

by snakeweasel on Mon Sep 29 16:16:18 PDT 2008

We were talking about a dealership defrauding a lender, I was talking about dealership defrauding their lender, You came back with something about being put on a "watch list" by a citizens group. Two different things. Do you actually know what is involved in setting up floorplan? Actually I do, I have audited dealerships before. I've read plenty of your posts to know you bitch and moan about car dealerships Where have I bitched about car dealerships? I simply mentioned that there are plenty of bad dealerships out there and one must protect themselves. I also question your claims that one needs an extended warranty. I have no beef, but I suspect I am hitting a little to close to home with you. but you said you've got the man who "calls the shots" owing you favors, No, I believe I said owed me a favor. Some wells you can only drink from once.

Re: Driver Door latch not working [oowie]

by texasmoon on Mon Sep 29 11:28:15 PDT 2008

My 02 had the same thing happen. According to my internet research, its not uncommen. There is a plastic tab on the handle that breaks. It then can't pull the door cable to open the door. Until you fix it, you can (1) roll down the window and open from the outside, or (2) push/twist the lock to open the door. The lock twists out when the door is locked, but if you twist the other way, the door opens. To fix it, I bought a new interior drivers-side door handle from mazdaparts.org ($90 after shipping). To install, I used these steps: (1) Remove screws. Looking at door from inside - one on far left (uncovered), one behind pop-out plastic tab on upper right, one behind tab behind silver handle, and one inside the pull-handle well. Remove the wells that surround the silver handle and the pull handle. (2) Use a flat-head screwdriver to pop out the plastic tabs that hold most of the door panel to the metal door. It feels like you're breaking your car, but they're really quite tough. There are two on the bottom, two on the left, one on the right, and one on the top. (3) The door panel should lift up off the slip tray at the top, by the window. The window controls are attached to the panel, so just let it flop down for a while. (4) The black plastic door handle assemby is right there attached to the metal door wall. Pry it off the wall starting on the right. The assembly pops outward, then swing out and to the left. There is a tab that holds the left side in place; you don't need to pry that one loose. (5) Remove the small black tab on the top of the assembly, and you can see the gold metal cylinder that the cable is attached to. Position the lock so you can slide the cylinder out of the assembly. (6) Slide the cylinder into the NEW door assembly, replace the black plastic cover tab, and reassemble in reverse order. I hope I didn't miss a step, but if you're willing to do this at home, you'll surely figure it out! Hope this helps.

Re: SUV Pricing [oldfarmer50]

by graphicguy on Mon Sep 29 06:07:13 PDT 2008

percussionist.....my son has grown an emotional attachment to that Elantra. It's starting to show a bit of rust around the wheel wells. His back seat looks like he's lived in the car for the past 6 years. But, like many cars that we've owned for a long time, his Hyundai carries a lot of fond memories. Don't get me wrong, he wants that Honda. But, he knows the stipulations that go with it....graduation. He's not there yet. Besides, out of all the cars in the GG stable, the Hyundai is probably worth the least. It's been mechanically maintained well. It needs nothing outside of some cosmetics. It has a new timing belt. New tires. New clutch. New brakes. New tires last winter. Recently tuned up. Radiator was flushed and filled last winter. Doesn't leak or burn anything. Will put a new battery in it before the weather gets cold. It's really been a very good car. My son was meticulous about changing the oil every 5K miles, too. I'd like to shed the Tahoe. But, I won't let someone steal it from me. The Grand Marquis would be easiest to sell. So, that one will go first. Why relatives give me cars is beyond me, except that they know I'm a car hound. I don't need them, but am grateful they think enough of me to give me their sleds. The plan is, sell the GM, now. Wait until the snow flies, put a 4-sale sign in the Tahoe to see what it might bring. Then, parade it down by the boat docks next spring (if I get no bites this winter) to see if anyone down there needs a tow vehicle. Hopefully, by then, gas prices will have stabilized and all this furor has died down making it easier to move for anything remotely resembling a decent price. That will leave me with the Elantra to sell in the spring. I'll put a sign in it. First $3K takes it. Then, it'll be just the Honda in the stables. That'll go to my son when he graduates in the spring. By June, I hope to be totally car-less. Which means I'll be lurking around the car lots again, in search of the next vehicle for me to love, and just as easily discard when it doesn't please me anymore. Don't know what that might be at this juncture, however. oldfarmer....I'm far from being a tea-totaller. I'm all about having a couple of beers at a ball game, or after a hot day working in the yard. And, I'll never be one to point fingers at anyone for imbibing. But, I saw people at the TL rollout who were chugging cabernet like they'd just spent 3 days in the desert and found the only gatorade stand for miles. Then, they'd get into the cars for a test drive, when they couldn't pronounce their own names without slobbering on themselves. Maybe the dealership thought it was "OK" since a sales person went along for the test drive. Maybe they didn't want to offend any of the attendees by declining a test drive. But, if those were my cars, there'd be no way I'd allow some of those folks to drive them in the apparent condition I observed. Not for nothing....but some of the contractors start on my house, today.

Re: What about gas mileage? [nippononly]

by andre1969 on Fri Sep 26 05:55:21 PDT 2008

But I am curious: is this the market Buick is chasing? How many folks here have had six adults in their car for a trip of any length more than a half hour in, say, the last year? Ever? Interesting observation. In my case, the last time I crammed 6 people into a car, it was my 1989 Gran Fury, so that would put it oh, summer of 1999? It was probably only for like 20-30 mins, though. I guess some people might look at the ability to squeeze 6 adults into a car as an advantage. However, when it comes to being able to hold 6 adults in COMFORT, each of us is going to have our own definitions and standards. And by my standard, no car made has been able to do that since perhaps 1979, when the last mastodon-class car, the Lincoln Continental coupe and sedan, played out their last song. Once cars started downsizing, even if they kept similar dimensions in shoulder room and even managed to improve headroom and legroom, other things changed. Seats often got thinner. The transmission and driveshaft humps got larger. The dashboards started intruding more into the passenger area. Less foot room under the seat for back seat passengers. The rear wheel wells started intruding into the passenger cabin, forcing the back seat to wrap inward at the edges. Plus, once stuff like center armrests and split front seats became popular, they'd often render the center sport useless. My 1985 Silverado has about 65" of shoulder room, which is about as wide inside as any car ever got. I've driven it with 3 people across, and even with that much width, I don't find it that comfortable. Now if a back seat was 65" wide, it wouldn't be so bad for three people, but as a driver, I need more room to be comfortable, and it's hard when I have a center passenger wedged up against me. For 5 passenger seating, I'd say a large-ish FWD car like a Lucerne, DTS, or Taurus/Sable would be your best bet. Even though the Crown Vic has more shoulder room, it also has a huge driveshaft hump, and seats that curve to tip the outboard passengers inward. But now for 6 adults, if you really want everybody to be comfortable, something with a 2+2+2 configuration, like a minivan or SUV, is probably best. Even if the third row in most of them is marginal, it's still better for the long haul, than trying to squeeze in 3 abreast.